A significant rollout of Covid-19 vaccines is unlikely to happen before the middle of next year and priority will initially be given to protecting vulnerable groups and healthcare workers, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said. Mr Martin said much depends on how quickly the various vaccines under development get regulatory approval, but he was hopeful that Ireland would be in a position to begin mass vaccinations around in the middle of 2021. He said the government had set up a taskforce to examine how best to get the vaccine or vaccines to as many people as possible as quickly as is feasible, but with health workers and the vulnerable getting priority. Mr Martin said the scenes were deeply concerning as they ran counter to public health advice on how to curb the spread of Covid-19. It puts front line workers in our hospitals under pressure and it puts ICU (Intensive Care Unit) beds under pressure,” he sid.

Source: The Irish Times November 16, 2020 18:27 UTC